Serious Issues
by Trixfan
Summary: This story takes place between books 2 & 3.  Jim is attempting to fit in with his new family


'Jim.' Matthew Wheeler looked down the dinner table at his son with a serious expression, 'please meet me in my study after dinner. I have some serious issues I wish to discuss with you.'

'Yes, sir,' Jim nodded.

With that short exchange, Jim felt his world turn upside down. His heart pounded, his breath became shallow, and a slightly nauseous feeling invaded the pit of his stomach. Looking at the soup on his spoon, Jim saw only a murky past and not Cook's famous beef consumé. Suddenly, he couldn't finish the broth he had been enjoying only moments before. Playing with his food, Jim sat in silence while his new "family" continued to take pleasure in the special meal prepared for his homecoming and a belated fifteenth birthday.

_Mr. Wheeler'__s never spoken to me in that tone of voice before. The only person who ever spoke to me like that was Jonesy. _Jim memories came flooding back while he attempted to hide his recollections from his family and the servants in the room. _He could make a simple sentence sound like a threat, a promise of things to come. I knew what would happen because it was always the same. After dinner, he'd go out with his drinking buddies. A few hours later, he'd come home, intoxicated past the point of sensibility, and call me into his den. First he'd start with the verbal abuse,_ _but that'd never last very long._

'Are you finished?' Madeleine inquired, pulling Jim from his emotionally evocative thoughts by indicating the maid waiting to remove his half-full bowl from the table.

'Yes, thank you,' Jim replied politely, dropping the spoon into the dish, then immediately wincing at the clatter it made in the formal dining room.

Looking at her new brother with a perplexed expression, Honey asked, 'Jim, aren't you feeling well? You've gone very pale, and you've been playing with your spoon for the last ten minutes.' The concern in her quiet voice was evident.

Matthew muttered something rude under his breath, before his famous red-headed temper rose to colour his cheeks in the same hue. Looking down the table at a mute Jim, he narrowed his eyes.

'My office now, James!' he roared. In a sudden turn about, Matt rose from the table and bowed almost formally to his wife and daughter. 'Please excuse us, ladies. This may take some time. Celia, could you ask cook to hold off the main course for half an hour?'

'Yes, sir.' Celia scurried from the room, glad to be out of the suddenly stifling atmosphere.

'Mother?' Honey questioned, tears clouding the corners of the hazel eyes as the men left the room. 'Why is Daddy mad at Jim?'

Her mother's sad expression mirrored her daughter's. 'He's not mad at Jim, Honey,' Madeleine sighed. 'Your father's angry at the way Jim felt he had to react to a simple statement.' Staring at her daughter for a moment, Maddy made an impulsive decision.

'Honey,' Madeleine began as she moved around the table to take a seat next to her daughter. Taking her daughter's hand in her own, Maddy realised this was an important moment in forging a new relationship with her daughter. Gently stroking Honey's hand, Madeleine carefully considered her words before continuing.

'Jim has been terribly hurt by the people who were supposed to care for him. It's going to take time and patience before he's comfortable reacting like a boy of his age should.'

Jim reluctantly followed his newly adoptive father into the impressive study. He was still overawed by the constant opulence that surrounded him. If Jim thought he felt anxious at the dinner table, he now felt petrified by Matthew Wheeler's cool and deliberate actions.

_I'm in for it now_, Jim thought as he silently contemplated the fate which awaited him.

'Close the door behind you, Jim,' Matthew told the boy tersely. As he watched the young man stand inside the door way, eyes downcast, his body tense and his posture defeated, Matthew realised his new son was ready for flight at the merest sign of violence. Softening his voice, Matthew commented, 'Take a seat on the couch, son, and tell me what's going through your mind at this moment.'

'Are…are you going to change your mind?' Jim stammered, fear lacing his expression.

'No, Jim,' Matthew stated, realising this young man would need a mountain of reassurance and careful handling to overcome his background. 'All the adoption papers were signed last week when we arrived home from Autoville. Madeleine and I have no intention of throwing you out on the street, or of using corporal punishment if you don't meet our expectations.'

A soft sigh escaped Jim's control and he visibly relaxed a fraction. 'You said you had issues to discuss with me.'

Taking his time, Matthew picked up a bound red book from his desk before joining the nervous boy on the settee. Handing the volume to Jim, Matthew sat in the farthest corner, waiting for his son's response to the gold embossed title.

'A Yale year book?' Jim questioned, quickly realising his biological father would have been at college when the volume was published. He opened the book when Mathew motioned towards the tab sticking out from one of the pages.

'Is this you and my dad?' Jim's query was quiet as he reverently touched the photograph of two red-haired young men sitting with two women, a blonde and brunette, between them.

'Your father and I were in our senior year when that picture was taken,' Matthew confirmed. 'The blonde woman, Katie, is your mother. The other girl was my date at the time. They were both freshmen at a local community college.' Watching Jim's face carefully, Matthew was glad to see the boy had lost a little of his apprehension with this happy memory from his past. 'I though you might like to have it, as a memento of your parents.'

'But…but you said the last time you saw my father he was about the same age as me,' Jim stammered, recalling Matthew exact words.

'You really are more like your father than you know, Jim. I met your father at school and didn't like him much at first. Finally there was a person I had to share the academic limelight with. Like you, Win finished prep school two years early. He graduated from college by the time he was twenty. So Win wasn't much older than you in the grand scheme of things, when he married Katie and moved to Rochester to start his graduate work. We lost touch a year or two after.' Matthew sighed at the memories, then looked more serious.

'I'd like you to think about attending Yale when you're done with high school. I think your father would be proud to know his son was able to go to his old school.'

'Would you be proud?' Jim asked uncertainly, still stunned by the "serious issues" his new father had wanted to discuss.

'Yes.' Matthew grinned. 'Madeleine and I always hoped Honey wouldn't be our only child, but life doesn't always turn out the way we plan. Sometimes we wind up in situations which can, if we allow them, affect the rest of our life.'

Sagely, Jim nodded at this piece of advice. _Boy have I learned that lesson the hard way_, he thought but remained silent.

'That brings me to the final serious issue I wanted to talk to you about,' Matthew continued in a calm voice, noting the tense body language coming from the boy beside him once again. 'Madeleine and I would like you to consider seeing a counsellor.' Taking a deep breath, Matthew continued in a serious but not unkind voice.

'You see Jim, my situation as a child wasn't all that dissimilar to yours. My parents divorced when I was four years old. My father made a bad choice of wife and realised it soon after they were married. After the divorce I went to live with my mother. She remarried just over a year later to a man who was only interested in the lifestyle my father was supplying. When the money stoped rolling in, my stepfather became violent.'

'The first time he laid a hand on me, Mom sent me to stay with my father. Dad demanded full custody, and would easily have won because of his family's money and influence. But as it turns out, the fight didn't get to court. My mom was found in her apartment with injuries consistent with her head hitting a brick wall. She passed away without regaining consciousness.'

When Jim only nodded at the story Matthew Wheeler related, he wondered if the boy was past the point of redemption.

'My father expected a six-year-old to forget what he'd seen and get on with life,' he attempted once again. 'I always wished there'd been someone I could talk to about my experiences.'

'Jim.' Matthew's appealing tone drew the frightened boy's stare. 'I don't want you to have to cope with the same feelings of worthlessness and fear when there is professional help, if you want it.'

'I need time to think about it,' Jim hedged.

'When you're ready, I'll be here and we can make the arrangements. No one needs to know about it, if you feel embarrassed,' Matthew told him quietly.

Jim looked up, surprise written all over his young face. 'If no one knew, maybe I'd go. And I think I _would_ like to go to the same university as my father.'

'Well,' Matthew smiled to himself, 'shall we rejoin the ladies and finish our celebration? Honey and your mother planned a surprise visitor. Trixie Belden was going to join our party for desert, but at this rate she'll arrive before the main course is served.'

Jim nodded, unable to trust himself to answer in words. If he did utter a sound, the tears of happiness welling in his eyes would cascade down his cheeks. _Matthew Wheeler has given me the greatest birthday present I could have asked for. My new family has given me a picture of my parents, and hope for a future I never dreamed about, and a chance to go to school with my two best friends in the world. _He smiled inwardly as he couldn't help but add_, One of whom is very special to me already. _Jim took a deep breath_. Now all I have to do is learn to trust them_.

_And __even for that, _Jim suddenly realized,_ Mr. Wheeler—I mean, Dad— has supplied the opportunity if I'm strong and courageous enough to take him up on his offer._


End file.
